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PO Box 1037
Lynnwood WA, 98046

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15305 44th Ave W
Lynnwood, WA 98037

Fear at Freedom's Doorby Kevin Mack, PAWS Wildlife Naturalist

On July 22nd, 2004, a Red-tailed Hawk sat timidly at the back of a
transport carrier and stared out at the world through an open door.
Just a few seconds earlier, that door had been closed, and the hawk had
been doing his best to force his way through it to the freedom beyond.
The appearance of a human in front of the door had made him less
certain about exiting, and he was now torn between his desire to break
free and his fear of the being that had opened the door to allow him to
do so. His fear was well founded; he had been held captive by humans
for nearly two months, and he had no understanding of the reason for
his temporary imprisonment. But now, with no physical barriers to
contain him, only his own mental barrier was keeping him in captivity.
I sat patiently and waited for the hawk's desire for freedom to
overcome his fear of stepping through the open door.

Red-tailed Hawk 04-1621 exits the carrier to find blue skies above.

Like so many of our patients, the story of this hawk's admission to
PAWS starts on the shoulder of a road. On May 30th, a man driving
through Olympia spotted the hawk lying alongside the highway. The
bird's wings were spread out at odd angles, and it was unclear whether
or not he was still alive. Luckily, the man decided to pull over and
check. As he approached the hawk, he could see no movement, but the
bird's blinking eye indicated that he still had some life left in him.
The man wrapped the bird in a coat and took him to the Tacoma Animal
Emergency Clinic. The next day, the hawk was transferred to PAWS
Wildlife Center and entered into our database as Red-tailed Hawk
04-1621.

By the time hawk 04-1621 was admitted to PAWS, he was standing and
alert. He was given a thorough physical examination during which
significant swelling in his left shoulder was discovered. He was also
found to be thin and dehydrated. He was tube fed rehydrating fluids to
help correct the dehydration, and was scheduled to be radiographed the
following day.

Radiographs of hawk 04-1621 taken on June 1st revealed that the
shoulder swelling was the result of a fractured coracoid bone. The
broken ends of the bone were well-aligned, and the bird was prescribed
2 weeks of cage rest to allow the coracoid to heal. All things
considered, the hawk had been far more fortunate than most animals who
are struck by

Taking to the sky, the hawk quickly gains altitude.

a 2,500+ pound object traveling at 60(+) miles per hour. He was a very
strong individual in both body and personality, and this served him
well as he recovered over the following weeks.

By June 15th, the hawk's coracoid fracture was callused and stable. An
entry in his chart for that day indicated that he was beginning to feel
much better. It simply stated, "BAR- Very aggressive." BAR means
"bright, alert, and responsive", and "very aggressive" means "I'm glad
I was wearing thick gloves when I handled this bird". In addition to a
marked improvement in behavior, hawk 04-1621 had also improved in body
condition, having put on more than 100 grams of weight since his
admission. His improving condition allowed him to graduate to a larger
outdoor cage where he could stretch his wings and begin to exercise his
recently healed shoulder.

Once outside, hawk 04-1621 made it very clear that he was still fully
capable of flying, and that he would prefer to do it outside of a cage.
He also made it clear that he did not enjoy the company of humans, and
he would try his hardest to fly through a solid cage wall whenever a
staff member would enter his aviary. Small gauze "bumpers" were
attached to his carpal joints to prevent him from damaging his wings
when he made these escape attempts. He was also brought inside on the
4th of July to ensure that he did not panic and injure himself when all
of the random flashes and explosions started that evening. After July
4th, the hawk was placed in a large flight pen for his final
pre-release conditioning. He gained strength quickly, and it was only a
few weeks later that he was sitting inside the carrier on private land
in Olympia trying to muster the courage to take back his life.

Red-tailed Hawk 04-1621 fulfills his most pressing desire.

After watching the carrier for a minute or two, with no signs of
movement from within, I began to become concerned. It was about 80
degrees outside, and the carrier was sitting in direct sunlight in the
middle of large field. If the hawk didn't leave soon, he was liable to
become overheated. After opening the carrier door, PAWS Wildlife Staff
Member Cindy Kirkendall had moved behind the container where the hawk
could no longer see her. I instructed Cindy to scratch very lightly on
the back of the carrier. The scratching was just enough to encourage
the hawk to move towards the front of the carrier, but not threatening
enough to send him into a panic. His paralysis was broken, and he moved
towards the open door.

Red-tailed Hawk 04-1621 hopped through the doorway and discovered a
wide-open blue sky above him. He spread his wings and shed his
frightened, captive persona in an instant. He gained altitude and
banked off to the left, heading towards a distant stand of trees. He
flew beautifully, and the sun shined brightly on his dark back and
rust-colored tail. A few nearby crows protested the hawk's appearance,
but he appeared to be unfazed by their criticism. For the first time
since he had been injured, the hawk was able to fulfill his most
pressing desire; a desire that was especially pronounced when humans
were nearby. For nearly two months this bird had wanted nothing more
than to simply spread his wings and fly away. On July 22nd, 2004, he
did.